Decision Making...!

Time & again we hear from our Supervisors/elders that "Quick Decision Making Skill" can be learned over en extended period of time and it comes from practice. May be thats true but considering the paucity of time & based on the post - I somehow feel that everyday decisions are indeed taken by our subconscious minds in those Split Seconds. As my friend (my Cooking Guide) was cooking yesterday, I tried drawing an analogy between cooking & decision making. Here's a gist of my thoughts that wandered way too much last evening ;-) :

• Gather All Ingredients (Facts) - The exercise directs our Subconscious minds towards soaking the problem which could later help in taking a good decision.
• Add Spices (Self Judgment) - Like a good recipe, we have to allow ourselves to add our own spices (feelings, intuitions & other considerations) based on our past experiences & judgments. Like a good dish, this step is what differentiates a good decision from a not o good one.
• Patience - Until the dish gets prepared one has to exercise patience-likewise decision making can be a time consuming process which we ought to consider.
• Visualization - Mind Mapping has proved to be a good aid since my High School days. Have tried the same while cooking - it actually helps. Somehow I feel we remember things better by way of pictures / illustrations as against mere facts.

Enough said-have a look@the following Video...to learn why timely decisions are crucial~ Enjoy...!

Beyond Cognition...!

Early this morning while browsing through my Google Reader feeds, I stumbled upon Yahoo Design Blog and there was an instant moment of awe & inspiration. For the first time, I felt that out there there are some folks do work for pursuing true research in pursuit of their passions - as against working on usual stuff under visible pressure of revenue targets, work hours clocked or performance feedback :)

The Yahoo Design Team seems to be working on a plethora of Research Projects and after navigating their site - I can summarize their work as " Cutting Edge Science applied for executing some fresh idea". The one project which intrigued me in particular was their "Burst Visualisation Software" - which represents Yahoo Search Queries density in different geographic locations on the globe against a search term like "Miss Teen USA". Apart from the idea this is what impressed my mind about this project:

• Globe Texture & Appeal (Yahoo rocks in aesthetics..!)
• The algorithm that yields patterns from a seemingly colossal data against a search term - wonder how they do that - get data, do reverse IP Loookup, plot a trend, capture times also since search trends would differ during day / night times for each distinct location...Wow!
• After a while [few spins of the globe :)], one can ascertain what are the popular search keywords and "patterns" like these are what Marketers look forward too - ain't it?

And yes, check out the statement by Aaron Koblin - "I have a feeling there's a lot more to come with this stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to spend some more time on it soon". Now, this is a true passion indeed..Boy, what a nice way to start your day with...!! By the way do have a look at this video.

Winds Of Change...!

For some people tradition begins at home - a special dinner with loved ones, a precious gift by someone special, a fun gathering; for others, tradition manifests itself in different ways - like a trip to the nearest Movie Theater or a Mall...! Now, amidst all my friends, I am a little less adventurous of the lot and given a choice - prefer to stay back home, pick up some bestseller, grab a Coke, switch on some music and believe me weekend just passes by :) About 3 Weeks back, on one fine Saturday morning, when my friends made a plan to go Bowling @ Rip Van Winkle Lanes nearby, my first reaction was "Oh dear! What Kinda trouble..?" But then the idea somehow intrigued my consciousness since I had never been to a Bowling Alley before... and I thus decided to Go Bowling...!

I was pretty amazed upon enterring the bowling arena (it was huge...!) for it had all the trappings of an upscale entertainment-made-to-order cocktails(we had mock tails :)) , snack bar food to delier made-to-order casual dining choices & tempting appetizers, colossal Plasma Displays, a state-of-the-art sound system blasting latest music tracks and an array of lanes to keep everyone occupied. Observing the frenetic pace of everyone inside- their rhythmic walking & swinging of arms was remarkable indeed. Now, I couldn't help myself taking a note of few things in there:

• Appeal - The Bowling experience is designed to work for everyone - an office team building event, a special birthday party, a super special date, a family get together or just a hangout destination for friends.
• Patience - The excitement is always on as one waits for his/her next turn to bowl for everyone tries to do better than erstwhile attempt. The lead time is best for munching some snacks.
• Speed - The game goes way too faster than one anticipates and as a result everyone wishes to play games after games.
• Music - Pulsating Sound tracks coupled with intense desire to hit a strike adds special effect indeed.
  
• Etiquette - Bowlers next to you proceed with their next chance even though you are about to take your shot & at times they even pick your favorite bowling ball. But then the good part is egos are kept aside & it all somehow works fine.
• Shoes - I wonder whose idea was it to make it mandatory for everyone to wear bowling shoes provided by folks running the alley, but may be the concept appeals to some.
• Work-Out - Owing to balanced & co-ordinated body movements, bowling serves as a nice way to shed off those extra calories indeed.
• Customizations - Bowling Balls come in varying degrees of hardness, weight and colors - and one gets to cherry pick the ball from a stack of multitude of balls in alley thus giving an illusion of customization (Mac Experience).

All in all, thanks to my friends it was a wonderful experience which helped in breaking my status quo for the weekend ;-)

Halloween Effect...!

Yale is an institution known far and wide for its love of tradition. My visit to Woosley Hall to attend Yale Symphony Orchestra’s during Halloween made me realize that Halloween means much more than exhibit of Creative Costumes...! For most of us (me in particular) Halloween conjures up vivid images of ghosts, flying witches, grinning pumpkins, youngsters roaming around in caparisoned experience and the most striking of all oodles of party time...! This being my first Halloween in US, I was pretty excited and learnt about this concert which is popularly known as Yale Symphony Orchestra. The special part of this concert is the tradition of presenting a Yale-themed comedic silent film which is prepared by Yalies - embodying the spirit of Halloween.

This time the silent-film was was based on "Harry Potter" theme and circumvented around life of a new student who joins Yale. The film was accompanied by orchestral music and the multimedia extravaganza was an amazing thing to watch 'n' experience. Sporty Halloween Costumes adorned by performers, outrageous pranks performed by film actors & the "jugalbandi" add more fun to the coherent event. Yet again, "Yale" University with its majestic buildings, towers, lawns, courtyards, walkways, gates, and arches with architectural styles ranging from New England Colonial to High Victorian Gothic amazed me on Halloween Night. I must say (based on inputs I received from some students & pamphlets) that in addition to providing students the opportunity to perform & audiences (New Haven residents in particular) the opportunity to enjoy, the Yale Symphony Orchestra also inspires several smaller orchestral ensembles in and around New Haven. (Hope my friends will accompany me in the next YSO concert :))